Page 105 of The Honest Affair

“We have had to stay discreet because of my...issues...with the press,” I admitted, rather uncomfortably.

His sisters did not look impressed.

“Three months ago. Three days ago. It doesn’t matter, Fran. The truth is that I knew the second I met Nina that she was the one.” He shrugged adorably as he looked at me. “What can I say? It was love at first sight. I couldn’t look away.”

“Well, we know that, fool,” Lea snarked. “You were making ga-ga eyes at each other the whole time she was here last time. But that’s not necessarily love. In your case, more like lust.”

“If it’s not love, then you don’t know a thing about your brother,” I snapped, unable to help myself.

Lea opened her mouth like she wanted to yell back at me, but was stopped when her grandmother put a hand on her wrist. Matthew took my hand in encouragement.

“I want you to be happy, Matthew,” said Mrs. Zola. “But…” She tapped a manicured nail on the glossy wood tabletop. Then, apparently deciding to take a different tack, she turned to me. “Nina. You’re a very nice girl. Strong. Smart. You been through a lot. And I don’t want to blame you for it, but there are problems, you see. Problems for my Matthew.”

I nodded. “No one here will argue that, Mrs. Zola.”

“The worst, you’re still married,” she started. “How are you gonna be engaged to my Matthew when you belong to another man?”

Matthew’s grip tightened.

“I do not belong to my ex-husband,” I said, perhaps more vehemently than necessary. Just the suggestion of it made my skin crawl.

“Nonna, they’ve been separated for months,” Matthew added. “It’s the issue of the money that’s holding up the divorce. That’s it. Well, that and he’s a damn criminal.”

“Yes, there is that,” Mrs. Zola replied. “And from what the papers say, so is she.” She jabbed a finger in my direction. “These crimes, they cost my boy his job, no? He worked for many years for this job. He loved being a lawyer, didn’t you, Matthew? And we were all so proud of him. People, they call their pasts baggage. We all got it. But yours, it’s a weapon. It hurt my Matthew. How much more will he have to take, eh?”

Matthew opened his mouth to argue, but I set a hand on his arm to stop him. All around the table, I saw his grandmother’s concern reflected in his sisters’ eyes. The anger that was there this morning had disappeared, but worry and fear were still present.

“It’s fine,” I said softly to Matthew. “After all, I can’t really be a part of this family if they don’t know everything, right? They’ve earned my secrets, Matthew. Just like you.”

And then I turned, and for the next hour, while everyone else snacked on olives and prosciutto and cantaloupe and all the other delicacies Mrs. Zola had provided, I proceeded to tell Matthew’s sisters and grandmother everything about myself I could think of. I started from the beginning. From my childhood on the Upper East Side and my father’s abandonment. The year I spent abroad and how I met Giuseppe. And then everything that mattered.

“That rat!” Joni squealed when I was finished. “First he tricks you into doing everything for his shitty business, then gets you to take the rap for it, and now he wants to steal your fortune too!” She covered her mouth with both hands. “I would die. I really would.”

I smiled. “I appreciate that, but it’s not really the point. I just want you to know that in part, I gave myself up for this crime to save Matthew. To put my husband away. It didn’t work, but it was my only chance to do what was right.”

“These girls,” Mrs. Zola said. “The daughters of your lover. In Firenze. What happened with them?”

I cringed. For the first time, the idea of Giuseppe as my lover made me physically ill. Maybe it was the fact that I knew his daughters and mother, had seen the pain I’d caused directly. But even more so, I suspected it was because the idea of giving myself in any way to a man other than Matthew seemed so completely wrong.

“We’re going back to see them this summer,” Matthew said. “To see the progress with the farm, the one Nina bought for them.”

I squeezed his hand. “Maybe, with any luck, to pick a wedding venue too?”

Matthew’s eyes shone before he turned back to his grandmother. “And we’re bringing Olivia. She deserves a family, Nonna. And I hope that one day, you’ll all let her be a part of this one.”

Matthew’s grandmother glanced between us, her dark eyes flicking back and forth with the speed of a pinball. It was clear now where Matthew and his sisters got their penetrative green eyes from. He said he took after his grandfather and his father, but the heart of this family was in the woman sitting at the head of the table.

And so, I tried again. “Mrs. Zola, I know it’s messy. I know my situation isn’t what you would have chosen for your grandson. We could have kept it a secret from you, just like we have to do with my family because I can’t trust them to be discreet. Not the way Matthew trusts you. But your grandson bleeds loyalty to this family. Nothing is truly real in his life if he can’t share it with you. That’s why we’re here. Out of respect and love for you and the other amazing women in this house.”

“Nonna, we’re not here to ask your blessing,” Matthew added. “We’d like it, but if we have to, we’ll do without it.”

“But, Matthew, how do you know she’s not just using you?” protested Lea, shutting up only when her grandmother held up her hand, her gold bracelets clinking as they fell down her wrist.

Matthew shook his head with frustration. “You think Nina is trying to get everything she can from me, but what you don’t know is everything she’s done to make my life better. Don’t tell me you don’t remember who I was before we met. I was a lost man, Lea. I was wandering, angry. Spent most of my time knocking on married women’s doors only to leave them the next morning. I’m sorry, Nonna, but it’s the truth.”

His grandmother, to her credit, didn’t look particularly surprised at this revelation. Nor proud, either.

“How is that any different than what you’re doing now?” Lea pointed out.

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